Arctic Adventures

Boy, has this been a busy week!  We had our Christmas Program on Tuesday.  My students sang Away in the Manger in Inupiaq, then Silent Night in English, and we played Jingle Bell Rock on the recorders.  Some other teachers and I did a little skit to the Chipmunk song and it was quite funny.  I will have to add pictures later.  We had our arms and legs in the sleeves of a sweatshirt then pulled the sweatshirt over our body and put our head through the hole--so we looked little.  The audience and the kids loved it. Today was the start of the SIVU basketball tournament here.  It's the kick off to the season with 4 boys and 4 girls teams playing here.  I went in to catch the girls game, because I have been helping out a bit, and got roped into doing the scoreboard for boys and girls, of course :)   Also, I have been trying to get packed and cleaned to leave on Saturday for a wonderful vacation on top of planning ahead in the classroom.  It's never ending :) One last note:  Tonight ...

I finally started the Home Ec program this weekend.  I baked and decorated Christmas cookies this morning with the elementary students.   We started baking at 11:00 am, and all of the kids were rolling their eyes, because it was "So EARLY" haha. It was a lot of fun and some high schoolers came in to help.  After we decorated the cookies, the kids delivered them to elders.   The sun was just rising above the mountains today at 1:36 (I will post a picture of what it looked like at this point as soon as I get one from Alision), then I looked out the window at 1:43 and it was already set!  December 22 is the shortest day and the sun will not even rise here. Yesterday, a parent came in and we made and decorated gingerbread houses with the kids for the last hour of the day.  It was a great activity because the energy level is HIGH as Christmas Break is approaching, but they were occupied and QUIET and even working together.  It was WONDERFUL.  The day got even better then, because ...

Today in Reading something about snow days came up, so I was telling the kids that some schools in the UP had snow days because they had a huge storm.  (Background:  there are NO snow days here.  No matter what, we trudge through the snowdrifts.  No need to worry about cars going in the ditch here :)  Anyway, back to the snow day discussion.  They could not understand the idea of not going to school because of the weather.  I told them that the roads get covered and very unsafe, so the busses can't travel.  They asked, "Why can't they just ride their snow-gos?" "Not everyone has snow-gos.  They drive cars most of the time." "Well can't they just walk?"  they asked I tried to explain, "No they can't walk, because some people live far away."  "Well people that live down town (1 mile about) just get up earlier if they have to walk." I tried hard not to laugh, "But some people live 10 or 20 miles away from their school?...

With Christmas fast approaching, I am getting excited for my visit back home.  Not only am I excited for the approaching holiday, but my students are as well.  The energy level has visibly risen in the last few days.  Today, we had an assembly to recognize perfect attendance for November and Student of the Month.  Assembly behavior has been a weak point for my students, so I was stressing how important it is to behave during the assembly.  I said, "Your parents and aanas and tattas are here, district office members are here, the whole school is here, watching.  Be proud of how well you can behave.  Show them how awesome you are."  A girl raised her hand, "But Ms Kayla, God doesn't want us to be proud."  :)

So, after four months of living here, I just found out that we are not supposed to flush ANYTHING down the toilet. . . like no toilet paper or anything.  The funniest thing is that at the school, they always have a garbage in the bathroom and I looked at it many times and thought, "Well thats kind of weird that people throw their toilet paper in the garbage. . . especially when it has poop on it." HAHA Oops.  I guess it is something with the pipes.  They shift when the tundra shifts and start to break apart, so the inside has cracks and stuff that catch paper.   On another note. . . We are preparing for the Christmas Concert which is coming up quickly...too quickly!  I am trying to teach recorders, so it is going to be interesting.  The big day is the 15th, so wish us luck :)  Also, the big start-of-the-season basketball tournament is here this year, so we dismiss school early the last two days before break.  Woo-hoo!

Today was relatively warm (+5), so I went quluking (riding in a sled behind a snow machine)  with Alision and Kyle to hunt for a Christmas tree.  We had to wait until noon for it to be bright enough.   It was a bumpy ride, but adventurous.  I found a cute little tree that I could break off with my hand.  It is now making my apartment smell nice from its perch on my shelf in a jar :) Today we had a traditional (white) Thanksgiving meal at Stan and Doris's.  Most of the teachers got together we ate (too much of course) and then sat around visiting for any hours.  It felt just like being at a Ryynanen/Markham Christmas with a few less kids ;) Kyle chopping down their tree. Kyle and Alision with their tree. Showing off our wonderful trees. My tree on its perch.

Here are some photos from the Thanksgiving Feast, held at the school.  The whole village comes up to celebrate!  Community members helped out with the cooking and high schoolers walked up and down the rows of tables serving food until each course was finished.  Many people brought Tupperware and Ziploc bags to carry stuff home.  You bring your own fork, spoon, plate, bowl and knife or ulu. The servers Our little group.  Kyle and Alision and Lori on the left, Mark and I on the right. 1st course:  Quuk (pronounced "coke" with a hard k). . . Frozen fish (whitefish)  'Kind of like a raw fish popsicle' says Lori. Wait, what am I supposed to do here?   Here goes nothing! mmmmmm..... Lori looks about as excited as I felt. Course 2:  Frozen Trout Lori digging in to her frozen trout. Mark's meal.  Quuk and Muktuk. . . yuuuummmmy. Course 3:  Muktuk. This strip is muktuk, or whale.  The black part is the skin, and the light part is the blubber. Course 3:  Caribou Soup.   Thi...

With Christmas coming nearer, preparations for the Christmas Program have begun.  Our class choice:  Singing Silent Night with the other 5/6 class and playing Jingle Bell Rock on the recorders along with singing it.  Soon I think that I am going to come to the conclusion that there is nothing that I can't do :)  Reffing volleyball, teaching music, setting up a home ec program. . . how much more can there be ;) just kidding. . .  The kids are SUPER excited about playing the recorders.  They actually picked up on it fairly quickly as well.  We mastered "Mary had a Little Lamb"  today. PS It IS a known fact that I don't have 1 musical bone in my body, so this shall be interesting!

The ice fog over the river.  Pictures just don't do it justice. Lori and I went for a nice walk today.  It is still -20 and the frost collects on everything! The school looks like it is glistening! The mountains looked amazing, but photos just don't do them justice! These are the lakes now with the snow covering.  I was walking to school at about 1 pm yesterday.  It was a cloudy and gloomy day. The school from my walking path. Before the snow came--crossing the lakes on the way home. Along the river.

Wednesday got down to -28, but it was only -8 yesterday!  There are a couple of high schoolers who are playing basketball in Canada this spring and trying to raise money for the trip.  As a fundraiser they are holding a basketball tournament this weekend.  $5 to play, $2 to watch.  There are only 3 women's teams, but 4 or 5 men's teams.   I am playing with a couple of ladies from the school.  So far we're undefeated, but we still have to play tonight...and I am SORE :)  A couple of my students joined wrestling and they got to travel to Noorvik this weekend.  They were so excited--it was ADORABLE.  I heard last night from a mother, that one of the boys won his first match. Yay!  Before they left I was making sure they had all of their equipment and putting their names on their bags.  Then they were loading into the back of the truck, I said "Okay, good luck boys!  High fives!  Have fun!"  So I gave some high fives, and one of the little boy snuck in for a quick hal...

Yeah...I am not actually driving haha, but these are the sleds they use here.  They pile about 10 kids on these sleds!  Today's temperature:  -20 Sunrise about 11:00 Sunset about 4:00 Yes -20 already, and at 5:00 while I was sitting at my desk a couple of girls threw snowballs at my window to get my attention.  Of course I snap into teacher mode "Don't throw snowballs at the windows!"  But when I got to the window and looked out,  one of the girls didn't have a hat on!  Her reply-- "We're Eskimo, we're tough."  Not only do they think its tough to not wear a hat, the kids also think it's cool and "tough" to have frostbite.  Two of my students already showed up with frostbitten patches of skin on their face! There was another death in the village, and the funeral was today.  One of my students was out yesterday because he was helping to prepare the grave.  Because of the permafrost they have to first warm the ground with torches, then...

Finally, after 2 weeks of below zero weather, the snow is here!  #1 rule when you live in the arctic:  check out the window before you step outside.  I forgot this rule today and ran out the door in my low boots and regular pants, no snowpants.....BIG mistake.  We got over a foot of snow last night and I was soaked by the time I got to the school! Alision and I all bundled up. The kids were SO excited.  The 1st thing everyone said when they came into the room was, "Did you see the snow, teacher?"  (like I could miss it! haha)  They were also VERY excited that one of the cooks rode her "snow-go" to the school.  In middle of science someone drove by on a snowmobile and one of the boys jumped up, "LOOK!  Fred Sr is riding his snow-go!"  In an instant, WHOOSH, all 15 kids were at the window (1 is in a wheelchair from a broken leg), as if they haven't seen a snow-go before :) Snowball fights already!  Notice how dark it is....this is at about 6:00 pm Here i...

A quick story about life in the bush: One of my friends here cannot have children and is beginning to look into adoption.  She was just informed that there was a poster in the store from a girl in the village wanting to give away her baby.  (FYI:  she isn't taking up the offer...too uncomfortable, plus the aana (grandma) is taking care of the baby) Adoption or switching/giving away children is not uncommon here.  If a parent feels they cannot take care of their child a family member will usually take the child in to take care of.  

I have a new respect for all officials.   I think that every coach should have to officiate a game, just to realize how difficult it is.  I had to referee volleyball games this weekend.  That's just one clue to how laid back everything is up here :)  The opposing coach was very loud and outspoken... she definitely made her complaints heard!  It did get a little bit easier with the more games that went on.   This was the only home weekend for the volleyball team, and on Friday the gym was packed.  Everyone was early, just waiting for the game to start.  Saturday was another story.  The games began at 12:30 and at 12:15 the gym was still EMPTY.  Everyone here really likes their sleep.  Community members and students trickled in through out the first match, but there was still only about 1/5 the number of fans as the day before.  They played two matches and a few more people came in for the 2nd.   Another funny story about being laid back:  with two minutes left of warm-ups, we still ...

 "Good Morning."  Not really appropriate, considering its 800 pm, but its the only greeting I know :) Guess what I get to (have to) do this weekend?  REFEREE volleyball games!!!  Only here would I even be thought of for that.  In no way do I qualify, for I hardly know the rules!  Apparently, last year Timm, the volleyball coach, had to ref because no one else knew how to.  I guess better me than him... It's been around 10 degrees for the last week, but we still don't have snow!  The frost on the tundra sure looks like snow, but its just thick frost. With the time change, the sun is setting at about 5 now, so it's quite dark by the time I walk home. One of the girls in my class hurt her knee last week and was on crutches for a while.  Finally, today she came in without crutches, so I was talking with her about it and how excited I was to see her walking on her own.  She replied, "I sure pray last night for my knee to get better and I wake up this morning and w...

Happy Halloween!  Instead of celebrating Halloween here, they have "Hallelujah Night" at the school, hosted by the Friends Church.  The night starts off with a "picnic lunch"--sandwiches, chips, apples, and juice.  Next everyone sings some songs, hosted by the minister/priest.  There was also a costume contest.  We voted for "best costume"-- kids that dressed up as biblical characters filed around the gym and we cheered.  The finale of the night was games for the kids.  They divided the kids into age groups and had games with prizes.  Everyone was sent away with a bag of treats.  In Noatak, they have Hallelujah Night in place of Halloween activities, like trick or treating.   Today:  11 degrees... the sun peeked above the mountains at 11:00 am....dipped below mountains at 6:00 pm In other news... I ate "muktuk" the other day...whale meat!  It was oily and VERY fishy.  One of the teachers brought it in during lunch and I tried some.  Also, the ele...

Today was the coldest day so far.  I checked the weather and it says "feels like 12."  BRRR!  It is super windy, so that has to have something to do with it, too.  A few snowflakes in the afternoon, but mainly just COLD.   The sun is rising later and later too.  It's not peeking up until about 10:30 now. One of the 5th graders today jumped on my lap (after school).  "You should divorce your honey and come to me."  HAHA Never a dull moment.... We have a district inservice this week.  All of the schools that scored low on the state test last year are coming here for the inservice.  This means that they have to sleep on our school floor, but I still get to sleep in my comfy bed!  

I volunteered to chaperone the volleyball trip this weekend.  We traveled to Kivalina, the closest village which is right on the ocean.  We had to take a plane because there are no roads connecting any of the villages.  There are 13 volleyball players (co-ed), but only 7 get to travel.  The school charters a plane to bring them to the game.  There were 9 seats-7 players, a coach, and me. It was a super clear day, so I got a pretty sweet picture of Up-town and the school....It's not very good because my camera wasn't exactly ready :) We got to the school and the principal handed me a key and  asked me how you pronounce my name so she can announce before...apparently I had been promoted to assistant coach somewhere along the way.  Later she came running and asked if I knew how to keep score--no one in Kivalina knows how, so I ended up doing the scorebook for all of the games.   We had a few hours before the games started, so the kids were messing around in the gym and were doing ...